The present invention relates to a tamper evident, and particularly tamper visible indicator for the lid or cover of a container to provide an indication to the user that the container lid had been previously removed or tampered with.
It has become increasingly desirable to enable a person who has acquired a container with a removable cover or lid to determine whether the container lid or cover had been previously removed from the container or been tampered with.
Various techniques are currently used to enable a person to determine if a container lid had been previously removed or tampered with. A seal is applied to the container lid, which is broken when the container lid is removed or removal has begun. In the alternative, the entire container is wrapped in a sealed covering, e.g. in plastic shrink wrap, or a so-called blister pack, or the like. A broken seal or a damaged covering will indicate that the container lid might previously have been removed.
Various sealing tapes or covering edge seals, and the like, include indicators which change condition when they are removed or tampered with. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,266,687; 3,896,965; 3,923,198; and 4,197,947. These indicators and many other available alternatives are not foolproof because ways are inexpensively and readily available permitting someone to reapply a seal or other indicator means, to rewrap or reseal an entire container, etc.
Another problem experienced with known lid removal indicators is that their application to a container requires an additional step after the container has been filled. This inconveniences or makes more expensive the container filling and closing operation, e.g. applying a seal to the lid after the container is closed, wrapping the entire container, etc.